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The Time Is New: Contemporary Arab Cinema
A selection of the best in contemporary Arab cinema.
This collection, which borrows its title from the book There: In the Light and Darkness of the Self and the Other by Etel Adnan, accompanies a wider season of works screening at BFI Southbank through September 2021, highlighting recent films made by Arab filmmakers between 2019 and 2021.
Bringing together a selection of fiction, documentary and genre-defying films, we highlight new currents within Arab cinema that challenge the stereotypical, weave personal narratives into broader questions and celebrate the potential of imagination as a path to a politics of freedom.
Arab Cinema has gained significant visibility on the international festival circuit in recent years, yet there are continuing efforts to create spaces for screening critically-acclaimed Arab films for audiences in the region. Many of the titles here have been screened at the Cairo-based Zawya Cinema, and so this season is a coming together of two organisations with two very different histories, audiences and infrastructures. Enjoy!
- season co-programmers Youssef Shazli and Alia Ayman.
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Talking about TreesTalking about Trees
Documentary201994 minsDirector: Suhaib Gasmelbari
Beautifully shot documentary about four members of the 'Sudanese Film Club' who decide to revive an old cinema.
SouadSouad
Drama2021102 minsDirector: Ayten Amin
Double lives and double standards in Egypt, as a teenage girl contends with religion and social media to define herself.